The hover board is here, and we've ridden it

Ever since I saw Back to the Future Part II in 1989, I’ve had dreams of riding a hover board. Twenty-five hover board–less years later, I had lost all hope of ever getting my feet on one, that is, until now. The hover board is here, and I have ridden it.

New games, awesome cosplay costumes, and more

BlizzCon 2014 marked the 8th annual event for Blizzard and it was arguably the company’s biggest one yet.

After 17 years, the company finally revealed an entirely new, original IP in multiplayer team-based shooter Overwatch. In addition to that, we got to see more from other upcoming titles such as StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void and Blizzard’s MOBA, Heroes of the Storm.

We take a look at the FakeFactory Cinematic Mod

It is not often that a sequel, in any entertainment category, is able to follow its critically acclaimed predecessor successfully. Yet that is what Half-Life 2 was able to accomplish, and in style. Released in 2004, it was the showpiece for Valve’s new Source engine and has been praised for its story, graphics, physics, and gameplay. However, the Source engine has been around for ten years, and Half-Life 2 is looking dated when compared to today’s graphics.

How does Mantle stack up against DirectX in certain games? Find out here!

AMD has been partnering up with as many video game developers as it can to incorporate its Mantle API. From Crytek to Robert Space Industries, AMD is slowly making the rounds. Games such as Battlefield 4, Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare, Sniper Elite 3, and Thief allow users to switch between DirectX to Mantle APIs.

Turn off the lights and get scared with these games

October is finally here and it's time to consume enormous amounts of confectionaries without the usual guilt, even if it is accompanied by a bit of nausea. Leading up to Halloween, it is hard not to get into the mood by watching scary movies (Exorcist, anyone?), listening to spooky songs (how about the Marilyn Manson version of “This Is Halloween”?), or maybe reading a story or two by Edgar Allen Poe.

The slickest side panel you've ever seen

If you look closely at the thumbnail, you'll see what looks like the Windows Start Menu overlaid on some computer parts. Your eyes aren't deceiving you. This month's Rig of the Month is centered around an incredibly basic, but undeniably awesome idea. Chris “Mosquito” Albee from TheModZoo.com installed an LCD panel—minus the backlight—into the side of a white NZXT H230 case. The result is simply incredible.

Showcasing the sexiest, most photogenic game screenshots this side of the Internet

It's hard to argue with Mass Effect, Skyrim, and Fallout screenshots. Sure, we've seen hundreds of them, but they're always stellar. Even beyond their luscious graphics, they're games that gamers of all types love for a wide variety of reasons. PC gamers in particular look towards games like Skyrim and Fallout as the ultimate demonstrations of the platform's superiority. Where else can you choose from thousands of completely free modifications that range from quests to custom NPCs? This month's Graphics Pornfeatures screenshots from gaming staples as well as from more obscure titles like Overgrowth.

Apps that regulate your rig’s internals

Making sure your rig’s temperatures, hardware, and clock speeds are running correctly is a good way to monitor your PC’s health. We always recommend stress-testing your shiny-new rig, or checking your hardware if you experience any stability issues that occur out of the blue. We’ve gathered up a list of the best free utilities you can use to make sure you have a healthy PC.

Know of any other free monitoring tools? Let us know in the comments section below!

We build a Thin Mini-ITX machine, which is not only small but fast, stackable, and packed with tons of storage

The Mission Today's HTPCs tend to be either diminutive NUC-style bricks, or big desktop cases bristling with hard drives and GPUs. For this month’s build, we decided to see if we could create something that offers decent performance and storage options while never screaming to the world that you have an HTPC tucked in your AV rack.

Deck out your desktop with some awesome new wallpapers

Bold 3D wallpapers are a growing trend that we happen to think look extremely cool. Beautifully rendered with gorgeous colors, interesting subject matter, and items that look as though you can reach out and touch them are only a few of the reasons you should get in on the fun. Whether you're looking for some additions to spice up your collection or needing some new desktop adornments, we've rounded up 40 of the best 3D wallpapers we could find, with some fun geeky surprises here and there.